1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sensor shaped by insert molding.
2. Description of the Related Art
A basic configuration of an in-vehicle sensor in the related art is formed, for example, of a sensing module having functional parts necessary for sensing, metal terminals transmitting a sensing signal from the sensing module, and resin encapsulating these components and further forming an exterior, such as a connector. Connector pins (parts of the metal terminals exposed from the resin in the connector) are provided at tip ends of the metal terminals on one side. Example of this configuration is described, for example, in Patent Document 1.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2012-242195
Because the connector pins fit to female connector terminals and transmit a sensing signal, a desired degree of accuracy is required for dimensions of the pins. For example, in the case of the sensor above, the exterior of which, such as a connector, is formed by metal terminal molding, a distance (pin height) from the tip end of the pin to an end face of the resin covering the pin has influences on a fitting state of the connector. It is therefore crucial to obtain appropriate accuracy for the pin height. Herein, accuracy of the pin height is known to depend on positional accuracy when the metal terminal is inserted into an exterior form die.
During the metal terminal molding, it is necessary to insert the metal terminals into a die used for the metal terminal molding. In this instance, the lack of rigidity of the metal terminals makes it difficult to perform a handling work by gripping the metal terminals, which is a center part of the product.
The lack of rigidity of the metal terminals also makes it particularly difficult to insert multiple metal terminals at a time when the metal terminals are inserted into the die, and this difficulty limits the productivity. Further, there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain a high degree of accuracy for the connector pin height due to an insufficient insertion amount.
Furthermore, after the sensing module provided with the metal terminals is inserted into the die, the position of the metal terminals is not stabilized due to the lack of rigidity, and such instability eventually causes a problem that the metal terminals possibly undergo deformation during exterior molding.
The invention was devised to solve the problems discussed above and has an object to provide a structure by which positional accuracy of the metal terminals with respect to the die can be readily ensured.